I Tried 9 Store-Bought Queso Dips And Ranked Them From Worst To Best

There's a range of snacks that have a permanent place in my pantry or refrigerator, including healthy items like carefully picked out blueberries and frozen fruit-flavored popsicles. But one of my personal favorite snacks my household keeps on hand? Tortilla chips and store-bought queso dip. I love to eat this delicious combination when I'm watching a movie with the family, playing a video game, or just snuggled up reading a book. Truthfully, there's no bad time for chips and queso. For the most part, I've always stuck to the same two or three types and brands of queso, because I know that I enjoy them. Recently, though, I began to wonder whether my go-to choices were actually the best — or were there better queso options out there I simply hadn't yet experienced?

Thankfully, the opportunity to answer this question was presented to me through this ranking of nine store-bought queso dips. Even better, this means I can share my notes here so you can skip the personal experimentation and jump right to buying the best queso your local grocery store stocks. To figure out which were the best (and worst) options, I judged each dip based primarily on its taste and texture using my food industry background and other relevant experiences. Now, ready to discover which store-bought queso dip belongs on your grocery shopping list? Let's get into it.

I know that Wise is a pretty well-known, respected brand, but I haven't had great experiences with it in the past. When I did my ranking of 13 BBQ Potato chips, the Wise option came in ninth place, and unfortunately, its queso dip was even worse to me, which is probably evident based on its spot in this ranking.

My first issue was that this Wise Medium Salsa Con Queso had a weird, off-putting texture. It was thick and kind of... like a gelatinous blob? Basically, if I dumped this jar out, I think the "thing from beneath the sink" from R.L. Stine's book would spring to life. But don't worry, I didn't test this theory and am, indeed, still safe. The spice level was okay, although it was mild instead of medium, but the dominant cheese flavor was sharp and almost bitter. My biggest complaint, however, is that there was a strong chemical aftertaste, as though Wise had seasoned its queso with a little Lysol.

This was an overall terrible experience, and you couldn't pay me to eat this again. If you value your taste buds, you'll skip this option, too.

Of all the poor experiences I had during the taste test, this one was the most personally disappointing because I was so excited to try it. The jar looked cool, and this was my first experience with the brand, which just sounded like it would be good. While I'd give their marketing team an A+, I'm afraid the product itself failed the class.

Since I didn't feel like my mouth had been washed out with cleaning products, this queso was definitely a step up from our last place option, but it wasn't a big step. The texture here wasn't gelatinous, but it was way too thick. I couldn't even dip my chip into the queso without it breaking off. Heating the dip up did help to liquify it a bit more, but even then, it was a struggle to get a good chip full without being extra careful of breakage. Then there was the taste itself, which was equal parts fake cheese and something I can't quite name. Maybe rotten pepper juice with unripe tomatoes? That feels like the closest flavor profile I can pinpoint, although it isn't exact.

My experience with this queso was truly disappointing, and I won't be buying it again. I definitely recommend you skip this in favor of one of our top two salsa con queso options.

The best way I can describe this Taco Bell Mild Salsa Con Queso is to say that it's basically just straight Velveeta with no other notable taste notes, which I don't like because I'm not a fan of Velveeta by itself. Apparently, this issue is a trend amongst store-bought queso brands. If you want my personal opinion, you can make a better Velveeta-based dip at home, if that's what you really want. You can make it taste less fake and nasty by blending it with some real cheese.

Salsa con queso should absolutely be cheesy, and that rich, gooey taste should be dominant, but it should also be flavorful, with the tastes of peppers, onions, and seasonings (at a minimum) balancing it out. That's not the case here at all, with additional heavy artificial notes that further ruin the queso for me. The texture isn't as bad as our last options, but it's kind of chunky, which I found really unappealing.

This Taco Bell queso dip is going to be a "no" from me. Skip this in favor of making your own Velveeta-based queso, or choose one of the top two options on this list for a quick but delicious dipping option.

With the Herr's Salsa Con Queso Dip, we finally have a product that's almost edible, although it misses the mark just slightly. With a little peppery flavor balance and the slightest thinning of the dip, I think this could be something special.

With that said, my biggest issue here was that we once again have a queso dip that tastes exactly as though a block of Velveeta was melted and poured into the jar. There's no real heat, no defining scent, and no complementing flavor outside of cheese — all of which is disappointing. The main reason this ranked a little better than the last option is that, although there are artificial tones throughout, they're a little less than Taco Bell's option. Texturally, this queso is a little thicker and heavier than I prefer, but I'm thankful it's not chunky or blob-like.

I won't be buying this Herr's queso dip again, and you couldn't get me to eat it again if you offered it to me. My advice? Skip this. Your taste buds will thank you.

Casa Mamita is Aldi's Mexican-style food brand, and I really had hopes that this would turn out well. After all, I gave the brand's mild chunky salsa the top spot in my ranking of spicy Aldi snacks. Sadly, this queso wasn't quite the hit the salsa was — although this does mark the part of the list where we go from gross queso to good queso.

We'll start off strong with my biggest complaint here, which is that this queso was a little too thick. Also, it had a very faint artificial taste, but honestly, that was so mild I could overlook it. Thankfully, the positives outweighed the negatives for me. The best part was the price, which is always the way it goes with Aldi products. Even better was the flavor, which tasted dominantly like cheese that's mostly real and reminiscent of mild Cheddar. Through this was streaked a moderate amount of spice with sweet and savory seasonings.

This obviously wasn't my favorite dip, but I might buy it again if I'm already at Aldi and craving some queso. If I did that, I'd probably combine a jar of this with a jar of the mild chunky salsa and a nice sprinkling of chorizo for a hearty, filling dip that fixes the thickness problem here.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how high this Signature Select queso dip ranked, because I've had a string of rough experiences with this Acme Grocers private label. For example, the Signature Select donut shop coffee came in fifth place in my ranking of donut shop coffee blends, while its green beans were dead last in my ranking of frozen green bean brands. But this queso? Not bad at all.

This Signature Select Medium Salsa Con Queso had a really nice texture, which was a boon after so many disappointing struggles with the lower-ranking products. The flavor was also good, and although there were artificial notes, these were less than with the Casa Mamita option, meaning they were barely there. One thing I really liked was the noticeable bits of pepper and onions creating textural complexity throughout the otherwise smooth, creamy, medium-weight cheese base. One thing I'd have liked to see is a little more flavor balance, since this was still predominantly cheesy in taste, even if not in texture.

If I wanted to save a little money and was already at Acme, I might grab myself a jar of this again. However, I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Chi-Chi's Mild Salsa Con Queso Dip is a good option that just barely missed the mark of being "great." The reason? An artificial taste, just as faint as the option below this, and a mildly unbalanced flavor profile.

In the grand scheme of things, my issues with this dip were minor. The texture was incredible — a perfect medium thickness that was creamy, smooth, and offered a break from all the too-thick options I'd sampled before. The smell was also pretty nice, with an appealing cheesy base streaked with faint hints of peppery spice. I do wish that peppery spice had come through as clearly in the taste, but as it stands, it was overwhelmed by the natural-tasting cheesy flavor.

I probably won't buy this again because I vastly prefer the top two options, but I'm certainly not opposed to eating it again. If this is the only queso dip available to you, it's not a bad choice. But if you have other options, look for the next two brands.

Here, we finally reach the part of the list where we go from good queso to great queso — this is the part where you'll want to start taking notes, so you know exactly what to add to your next shopping list. It was actually a very close tie for the top spot, but this came in second because I preferred the slightly thinner texture of the top option just a little more.

Texturally, this was fantastic. It had a smooth, creamy texture that veered towards the thicker side without being overdone. There was a decent kick of heat that lent peppery notes to the natural-tasting cheese profile, which was really nice because I was so incredibly tired of the artificial, one-dimensional flavor profiles that dominate the bottom of this list. I will say that this is a little oilier than other options, but it wasn't unpleasant and didn't ruin the flavor or texture. I'd just recommend giving it a good stir before dipping your favorite tortilla chips in it.

I would definitely buy this again, although I'll probably mostly stick to my top choice on this list. If you're looking for a really great queso that leans towards the thicker side, this is your best choice.

Tostitos Medium Salsa Con Queso dip earned the top spot in my store-bought queso ranking for many reasons. It has what I believe to be the perfect texture and consistency, with a robust, complex flavor profile devoid of artificial notes. I truly have no complaints here.

When I twisted off the lid, I was greeted by a nice cheesy smell with obvious peppery notes and an almost buttery scent. It smelled absolutely delicious, and I'm happy to report that this was a good reflection of the taste. A dominant natural cheese profile was well-balanced by moderate peppery notes, bringing a kick of heat and faint buttery tones. Texturally, this was perfect, and veered toward the thinner side without being watery. There were also small bits of what looked like peppers and onions throughout, adding textural complexity.

I will definitely be keeping a jar of Tostitos Medium Salsa Con Queso dip stocked in my pantry from now on, and strongly recommend you grab some for yourself. Trust me, this will offer you the best possible queso experience.

I chose store-bought queso dips for inclusion in this ranking, based on their availability to me in my local area. Options were purchased from my local Shoprite, Aldi, and Acme in New Jersey. Each option was tasted exactly as-is, without alteration — first, on a spoon by itself, and then as a dip for my preferred tortilla chips. I chose these tasting options because most people will use queso as a dip rather than something to eat alone. I primarily judged the taste and texture of each queso, although smell and aesthetics did play a small role whenever it was particularly notable.

To make my assessments, I relied primarily on more than fifteen years of food industry background, during which time I created various from-scratch queso dips. My prior consumership of store-bought queso dips over the last three decades, and previous experience creating ranking articles for the Daily Meal, also contributed. This includes similar snack-based articles like this ranking of Aldi spicy snacks or this ranking of Walmart frozen snacks. Although personal preference played a role, I aimed to be as unbiased about product quality as possible.